28/10/2010

It’s little wonder that Derry is known as the ‘city of song’. From Josef Locke to the Undertones the city has continually produced all kinds of wonderful music acts. That’s more true today than ever and there is one man who can take more credit than most for that state of affairs. Dónal Doherty has infused generations of music students with a love of music and been at the forefront of Derry’s choral renaissance, most recently as director and conductor of the internationally acclaimed Codetta.

Codetta

Codetta are no ordinary choir. A big hit around Europe’s leading choral festivals, they are all born and bred in Derry. Most of the choir have also grown up musically under Dónal’s influence, as, in many cases, he would have taught them music and singing from an early age. All volunteers, many returning from various parts of the UK, Ireland and Europe to rehearse once a month, their dedication is matched by the beauty of the music they create.

Schola Cantorum

Originally from Moville, Donegal, Dónal attended Hollybush primary school in Derry as his parents felt his already manifest musical talents would be best served there. Then came a decision that would alter the course of his life. Alarmed by the declining quality in liturgical music in Ireland, the Catholic Hierarchy set up the Schola Cantorum in Mullingar in 1970, where musically gifted boys could get scholarships to pursue a music-based education with particular reference to sacred music.

Sacred music

One of the first boys to go there, Dónal found himself inspired by Director, Frank McNamara. “He was one of the most eminent choral directors in Ireland”, he says, “ with a wonderful knowledge of the sacred music repertoire. That experience really determined my pathway. I studied piano and organ, clarinet and, of course, choral work, with music as a principal study. There was no pressure to continue with our musical studies at third level, but, like many other members of the Schola, I did”.

Bishop Daly

After completing a music degree at University College in Dublin, Dónal worked in Dublin, giving organ recitals both in Ireland and abroad. Then, in 1982, he accepted an invitation from then Bishop of Derry, Edward Daly, to become Head of Music at St Columb’s and Director of Music at St Eugene’s Cathedral. He has been living and working in the city ever since.

St Columb’s

Ask virtually anyone involved in classical music from Derry and the chances are they will have been taught by Dónal in one way or another. At St Columb’s he established a reputation for excellence still carried on by the current members of a vibrant music department. Among the boys he taught were Kevin Murphy, Cathal Breslin and Gerard McChrystal. Equally influential was his work with the choirs at St Eugene’s Cathedral.

Something in the water

“There is extraordinary talent here”, Dónal says. “Derry has always had a tradition for good choral singing, maybe it’s something in the water. I took over the Cathedral choir in 1982 and introduced the boy’s choir there in 1984. The adult choir became one of the leading choirs in the country and the standard of the boy’s choir was exceptional”.

Two Cathedral’s Festival

In 1992, along with Timothy Allen of St Columb’s Cathedral, he founded the Two Cathedral’s Festival which would showcase the finest choral and instrumental music from here and abroad for eight years. “The main purpose was to bring the choirs of the two cathedrals together, so that the combined forces could perform large-scale challenging repertoire”, Dónal says. “We’d share a matins or evensong each year and formed a festival chorus which comprised the core of both choirs plus enthusiastic singers from the surrounding area”.

Ulster Orchestra

With the regular participation of the Ulster Orchestra and leading guest conductors, some of the world’s finest musicians, such as Harry Christophers, Philip Langridge, The Sixteen and Musica Antiqua Köln starred at the festival.

City of Derry Civic Choir Group

The last festival was held in 2000, by which time both Dónal and Timothy Allen had moved on from their respective cathedrals. “I was still determined to offer a platform for choral singing”, Dónal says. “We had begun the City of Derry Civic Choirs in 1997, partly from participants in the Two Cathedral’s Schools’ Choir who were keen to continue with their singing after the festival finished. This scheme offered the perfect opportunity for that to happen”.

Five choirs

The City of Derry Civic Choirs, supported by the Western Education Library Board, Derry City Council and the Arts Council NI, and sponsored by the Garvan O’Doherty Group comprises five choirs – a primary girls, junior girls, boys, youth choir and Codetta, for adult singers.

Family

“Many of the male singers in Codetta first sang with me as seven-year-olds in the Cathedral Boys’ Choir”, Dónal says. “The energy and commitment of young people in this city is fantastic. Many grew up singing in the choirs and then went off to parts of the UK and Ireland and even to Europe for university or work. But they were determined to continue their singing and get this choir off the ground”.

Dedication

Codetta has blossomed into one of the world’s finest amateur choral groups, built not just on talent, but dedication too. Many members continue to travel from all parts for the intense monthly rehearsals over a weekend. Not only do the singers have to pay their own expenses, they also pay a small sub to ensure ticket prices are never too expensive and to enable the choir to travel to international festivals. It’s a massive personal and financial contribution, but all are happy to make it.

Family

“It’s remarkable really. But the choir is like a family that has grown up together over the years. Some take a break for a while and then come back when they have the time. We started with a group of 18 and now regularly perform with 30 or 35 singers, with a total of 40 on the books”.

Hit in Europe

Now internationally acclaimed, the choir perform at local charity events and concerts in Derry, as well as the Lord Mayor’s Christmas show in the Guildhall.

Crème de la crème

“We’ve won awards at the Sligo, Coleraine and Cork International Choral Festivals”, Dónal says, “and sung at leading festivals such as the Advent Festival in Prague and the Maribor Festival in Slovenia, the crème de la crème of European festivals, where Codetta were ranked in the last four in competition. But it’s also about enjoying being together. We are also a group of friends that make music together”.

City of Song Festival

The choir has also appeared frequently on radio and television and recently backed Derry’s classical sax maestro Gerard McChrystal on his latest CD. They have toured Ireland, giving concerts in Dublin, Cork and Galway, as well as performing in Belfast’s Waterfront and Ulster Halls. They will next be appearing at choral festivals in Florence and Sienna between July 21st and 28th and will feature in the programme for Derry’s City of Song Festival in October. Dónal is also involved with Derry’s Walled City Festival of Chamber Music (August 3rd to 8th) organised by leading classical pianist Cathal Breslin, another ex-student, and his wife Sabrina.

Head of Music Services

Dónal took up his current job as Head of Music Services for the Western Education and Library Board (WELB) in 1996. He was recently instrumental in introducing a new initiative which reflects his own passion for music in early years education.

Musical Pathway

“Our Musical Pathway to Learning programme takes its inspiration from Hungary where a great music educator called Zoltan Kodály believed that music should be for all. You can still see his legacy in Hungary today where all children are provided with the opportunity to sing and play music. We’ve introduced that idea in the Derry City Council area under the Achieving Derry/Bright Futures initiative. Every single pre school and Year 1 child, and next year each year 2 pupil, will take part in musical activities as part of their daily experience, through games and simple songs and rhymes. Parents and teachers have already noted the impact on their children’s social and emotional, as well as musical, development. This is particularly obvious in relation to their literacy and linguistic skills.”.

Recipe for success

As teacher, administrator, artistic director and conductor, not to mention an accomplished musician himself, the secret of Donal’s work, and the extraordinary influence he has had on the musicians of Derry, can be summed up in one word – passion.

Passion

“A lot of my work has to do with personal passion, believing in the worth of what we are doing and getting others involved to share that passion. The capacity of young people to achieve, given the right circumstances, is astonishing and seeing young people achieve way beyond what they believe possible is the greatest enjoyment you can have”.

City of culture

“This is an amazing opportunity to continue a reinvigoration of the city that is already happening. Culturally it has been developing steadily over the past number of years, but I think there is a much richer vein of creativity to be tapped into. If it is informed by the support now being generated from within and the extraordinary awareness that has occurred since the bid was first discussed, then it could result in something very special for the whole community. I feel people are already becoming more aware of how important artistic endeavour is. The City of Culture will open doors we don’t even know are there. It will be truly transformational”.

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